As this scorching summer winds down, take some time to reflect on the extreme heat of these past few summers, with 2010 and 2012 contending to be the first and third the hottest summers on record in the U.S., respectively.

It’s hard to argue against global warming in the midst of a heatwave, but how directly does this extreme weather correlate to our carbon consumption? And what does a rapidly warming planet mean for our future?

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Science at the Theater series includes presentations from climate scientists Bill Collins, Margaret Torn, Michael Wehner, and Jeff Chambers and UC Berkeley economist, Max Aufhammer, who discuss the pace and consequences of climate change.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory presents Seven Big Ideas – 8 new episodes from the popular Science at the Theater series.

The first episode, Seven Big Ideas, features seven Berkeley lab scientists who have eight minutes each to introduce their revolutionary projects to the audience.

Meet Blake Simmons, who has been working on a plan to replace a barrel of oil with plants and microbes. But not just one barrel of oil, he says, his idea is intended to replace all the barrels of oil that keep countries all over the world moving.

He explains that oil produces many products for our carbon economy, such as gasoline, diesel, polymers and more. In order to undo our reliance on oil we have to find substitutes for all of these different products that the oil produces.

Watch “Seven Big Ideas” to hear about his plan to make replacing oil affordable and sustainable, as well as other game changing ideas from Aindrila Mukhopadhyay, Bill Jagust, and more!